Team Effort Entrée
By Angela Denstad Stigeler
This week’s entrée is what happens when two appetizers collide. It involves a collaboration of flavors you might go out for when you want classic sports bar fare—namely Buffalo chicken and guacamole—but it’s a quick and easy at-home meal. You can serve the chicken up en piece for posh dinner party plate service, or dice the chicken to make one big family-style platter for a finger-licking TV-watching treat. The sizzling chicken and spicy sauce are tamed by the smooth cool of avocado. It’s a spin-off of a fancy fusion entrée I’ve altered into this all-American dish. So see what good things happen when two tastes meet. Go team!
Buffalo Chicken with Guacamole and Bacon
Guacamole
2 ripe Haas avocados, pitted
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon minced red onion
1 small garlic clove
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Chicken
4 slices bacon, chopped
4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded flat
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons butter cut into four pieces
¼ cup mild hot sauce, like Frank’s
Blue corn tortilla chips, for garnish
For the guacamole: Scoop the flesh of the avocados out of the shells with a large spoon and sprinkle the lime juice over. Mash the avocados with a fork to desired consistency. Add the onion, garlic, salt, cumin and cilantro and stir to evenly blend. Set aside.
For the chicken: Heat a large skillet over medium heat and cook the bacon bits until crisp. Remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel lined plate and set aside. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, season with salt and pepper and cook in the same skillet over medium heat until golden and cooked through, 5-7 minutes per side depending on thickness. When cooked, remove the chicken breasts to a platter. Meanwhile, off the heat, swirl the butter and hot sauce into the pan, stirring to combine and deglaze the pan. Drizzle the sauce over the chicken, place a scoop of guacamole on top of each portion and sprinkle with the bacon. Garnish with tortilla chips and serve warm.
